Saturday was a day for the record books — many times over.

High school championships were decided on the track, softball diamond, lacrosse field and tennis court, and The Providence Journal’s award-winning Sports staff — writers Bill Koch, Eric Rueb and Jacob Rousseau, photographers Kris Craig and David Delpoio, and freelancers Will Geoghegan and Emma Marion — was everywhere.

So if you missed the history that was made across Rhode Island on a pristine spring Saturday, don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered.

Here’s a look at one of the busiest days of the high school sports calendar:

BOYS LACROSSE

∎In Division I, the La Salle Rams did was the La Salle Rams do — win boys lacrosse titles. This one marked the 12th straight championship for La Salle, who stormed to a 19-1 final over Moses Brown at Stevenson Field at Brown University. The Rams scored the most goals in a state championship game and had the largest margin of victory in the season’s final game. The Rams had tallied 15 goals, the previous high, in 2017 and 2022.

∎In Division II, the Prout Crusaders grabbed some redemption, as most of the lacrosse players were on the hockey team that still tasted the one-goal, double-overtime Frozen Four defeat this winter. But on Saturday afternoon at Brown, Prout proved its championship pedigree, beating Pilgrim, 13-8, for the program’s fifth overall Rhode Island Interscholastic League crown.

∎Division III has gone to the Dogs … again. Westerly’s Bulldogs captured their second consecutive Rhode Island Interscholastic League title by besting Smithfield, 8-6. Westerly goalkeeper Ryder Casady described it this way: “It’s been a roller coaster this year of highs and lows. But overall, we put it together and the feeling is just amazing to go back-to-back.”

∎North Smithfield was playing with fire — tempting the fates by having championship hats ready to go. But after heartbreaking losses in 2021 and 2022, nothing was going to stop these Northmen from finishing the job. No. 1 North Smithfield (16-1) built its advantage in the third quarter and weathered second-seeded Lincoln’s late push for a 5-3 triumph in the Division IV championship.

BOYS TENNIS

∎The lights went out at Slater Park, but it was the Barrington duo of Garrett Meehan and Justin Kuo who turned the lights out on La Salle’s three-year title streak in Division I. It was the third straight season that the Eagles and Rams battled for the state title. This time, undefeated Barrington finished the job, with the No. 3 doubles team winning the final points.

∎The crowd had shifted over to watch East Greenwich’s David Levy play North Kingstown’s Owen Tegan. What’s already been an incredible debut season for Levy got better Saturday. Levy came out strong in the first set, looked ready to roll in the second but had to withstand an impressive comeback from Tegan before grabbing the win, giving East Greenwich a 4-3 win and the Division II title.

∎Finishing the year unbeaten and hoisting the championship trophy is no easy feat. But North Smithfield did just that — in the same way the Northmen won every match this season, by relying on every person in the ladder. On Saturday, North Smithfield completed a 4-0 win over Cranston East and put the finishing touch on the Northmen’s undefeated championship season.

GIRLS TRACK

Providence’s Conley stadium saw records being smashed and helping to lead the way to an outdoor track team title were West Warwick sisters Lisa Raye and Xenia Raye. The Wizards totaled 76 points, bettering runner-up Cranston West’s total of 59 and adding to what is becoming a crowded shelf of accolades. Lisa Raye set new state marks in three events and collected four gold medals while Xenia Raye set a new meet record while capturing the 400 meters.

BOYS TRACK

Barrington’s roots in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League date to the league’s founding in the 1930s. But Saturday was a first for Eagles — a boys outdoor track state championship. While Bishop Hendricken and La Salle offered plenty of fight, the Eagles were left standing tall at Conley Stadium — three gold medals, nine other top-3 finishes and 120 team points.

SOFTBALL

∎How’s this for a day’s work: Cranston East freshman pitcher Isabella Sousa struck out 16 Pawtucket batters, her defense made just one error behind her, and in the fifth inning, after failing to get a bunt down, Sousa smashed a grand slam that had the undefeated Thunderbolts dancing their way to a 10-1 victory at Rhode Island College and the school’s first-ever Division III fastpitch softball championship.

∎There were only two starters back from last year’s title-winning Central Falls team, but it didn’t take long for Chloe Acosta and Arghennis Disla and their classmates at Blackstone Valley Prep to mesh with their new co-op teammates. This special season ended with a 12-8 comeback victory over the Providence co-op of Times 2 Academy/Paul Cuffee and a Division IV title. Said coach Selena Martinez: “We really built it. It’s a great achievement to go back-to-back. It was basically a brand new team.”

MORE ON TAP

Today, four girls lacrosse championships will be decided at Brown University:

Division IV: Tiverton vs. North Smithfield, noon

Division III: Narragansett vs. Westerly, 2 p.m.

Division II: Chariho vs. North Kingstown, 4 p.m.

Division I: La Salle vs. Moses Brown, 6 p.m.

The expansion Rhode Island Football Club leads USL Championship in ties.

They secured another on Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium as they battled the Hartford Athletic to a 1-1 tie in USL Championship action. It was the first tie of the season for Hartford and the eighth of the season for Rhode Island. It was the first meeting between the two New England rivals.

Rhode Island started the scoring early, putting the first goal of the match on the board just four minutes into play. Rhode Island’s Mark Doyle fired a volley into the bottom right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead, capitalizing off of a weighted pass across the box from Jerome Williams.

Battling from behind, Hartford (4-6-1) fought for possession throughout the first half, with Michee Ngalina and Marcus Epps making multiple advances toward the goal each contributing two shots for the Athletic.

In the 24th minute of the match, Hartford tied the game with a goal from Joe Farrell off a corner kick to tie up the score 1-1. Farrell got a piece off a perfectly placed ball sent soaring into the box from Triston Hodge.

An onslaught of Hartford scoring chances followed Farrell’s goal.

In the 40th minute of the match, the Green and Blue came close to taking the lead on Rhode Island when Michee Nglaina sent a fantastic header into the bottom left corner of the visiting team’s goal. Nglainas’s header forced a diving save from Rhode Island goalie Koke Vegas.

Hartford dominated in distribution across the board, maintaining 53% possession to Rhode Island’s 47% throughout the first half.

We have to stop giving up the early ones. It’s been a common theme the last few weeks and it is not a recipe for success,” Hartford coach Brendan Burke said. “It’s great we have enough in us to battle back in those moments but that is a game that we should have won in the first half but we hit the post I mean it’s just that’s the way our season is going but we have to grind through it they’re really positive signs the fact that we create four or five really high quality chances.”

Both Hartford and Rhode Island (1-3-8) came hot out of the second half. The visiting club made their first attempt to score just minutes into the half when Jerome Williams drove in a powerful shot from outside the box, forcing the third save of the match from Hartford goalie Renan Ribeiro.

Hartford’s first shot of the second half came in the 85th minute of play after Marcus Epps intercepted an attempted clearance from Rhode Island defender, Karifa Yao. The forward won back possession for the Green and Blue and Hartford’s Marcus Epps took the ball up the field before playing a dangerous ball into Rhode Island’s box.

Michee Ngalina received Epps’s pass and fired in a shot that soared just over Rhode Island’s top post.  The two rival clubs traded scoring chances as the game advanced into the late stages, but neither could break the tie.

Epps had an active night offensively for Hartford, leading the team in shots on goal (4) and passes (39). Renan Ribeiro made four saves in goal and Hartford created nine total chances throughout the night.

Hartford returns to action next Saturday when they travel to face the top team in the Western Conference, the New Mexico United on Saturday, June 8 with kickoff at 9 p.m.

Hartford 1, Rhode Island 1
At Hartford
Rhode Island (1-3-8)    1  0  — 1
Hartford (4-6-1)            1  0  — 1
Goals: Rhode Island: 4’ – Mark Doyle (14); Hartford: 24’ – Joe Farrell (15); Shots: Rhode Island, 14-11; Shots on target: Rhode Island, 5-2; Corner kicks: Hartford, 7-5; Saves: Hartford, 4-1

HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP
40 (GK) Renan Ribeiro, 4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett,  15 (DF) Joe Farrell, 5 (DF) Triston Hodge, 19 (DF) Rece Buckmaster, 6 (DF) Beverly Makangila, 8 (MF) Jay Chapman, 12 (MF) Asiedu Anderson,  7 (MF) Marcus Epps (Mamadou Dieng, 85’), 31 (F) Deshane Beckford (Romario Willaims, 67’), 11 (F) Michee Ngalina
RHODE ISLAND FC STARTING LINEUP
1 (GK) Koke Vegas, 4 (DF) Collin Smith ( Conor McGlynn, 45’), 15 (DF) Frank Nodarse, 24 (DF) Karifa Yao, 3 (DF) Stephen Turnbull, 23 (MF) Marc Ybarra, 12 (MF) Clay Holstad, 8 (MF) Jack Panayotou (Noah Fuson, 72’), 9 (F) JJ Williams, 10 (F) Albert Dikwa (Joe Brito, 81’), 14 (F) Mark Doyle (Prince Saydee, 88’)

The Rhode Island House Finance Committee voted 13-1 Friday to approve a $13.947 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year, directing substantial funding toward education, children, and healthcare, alongside a historic $120 million affordable housing bond. The budget, which is $60 million less than the current fiscal year’s, reflects the cessation of federal pandemic aid.

The budget bill (2023-H 5200A) now advances to the full House of Representatives, set for consideration on June 7 at 2:30 p.m.

“Through this budget, we are emphasizing education at every level and supporting children,” stated Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick). “This budget is the result of a truly collaborative process between my colleagues here in the House, the dedicated members of the House Finance Committee, our partners in the Senate, and Governor McKee and his team to carefully create a plan that meets Rhode Island’s needs for education, students, and children first, while addressing our challenges, such as housing and health care.”

House Finance Committee Chairman Marvin L. Abney (D-Dist. 73, Newport, Middletown) added, “This year’s budget proposal reflects the fact that while the influx of federal pandemic funding has come to an end, Rhode Island is still on sound financial footing. We have continued to best position Rhode Island for future economic possibilities. This budget supports our residents, families, and children without adding financial burdens on the people of Rhode Island.”

The proposed budget includes a $70.9 million increase in state aid for schools, which is $33.8 million more than Governor McKee originally proposed, aimed at aiding schools and students still recovering from the pandemic’s effects.

Increases for multi-language learners (MLL), the governor’s Learn365RI initiative for out-of-school learning, and efforts to boost reading and math achievement were modest but significant. MLL students will now receive 20% extra over the core education aid, up from 15%. Learn365RI will get $5 million, and an additional $5 million is allocated for reading and math achievement. The budget also fully funds an $813,000 proposal to provide free meals to 6,500 students statewide who currently receive reduced-price school meals.

Higher education also sees benefits with an additional $1 million for the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and $2 million for the University of Rhode Island (URI). The budget continues the Rhode Island Promise and Hope scholarship programs, which offer two years of free tuition at CCRI and Rhode Island College, respectively, and authorizes a two-year extension of the Hope scholarship. It also allocates $2.3 million for the dual and concurrent enrollment initiative for high school students.

Among the most notable elements is a $120 million affordable housing bond, the largest in the state’s history. This bond includes $90 million for affordable housing, $10 million for acquisition and revitalization, $10 million for homeownership programs, $5 million for site acquisition, $4 million for housing-related infrastructure, and $1 million for municipal planning.

Furthermore, the bill authorizes up to $10 million from the housing bond for public housing, following a six-month study on public developer models.

Healthcare receives significant attention with over $160 million allocated to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates next year, including $3.8 million for Early Intervention providers. Additionally, $10 million in unspent federal COVID funding will be redirected to nursing homes.

The budget proposal also includes a $30.6 million increase to support providers contracted by the Department of Children, Youth and Families and establishes a new program to purchase medical debts for struggling Rhode Islanders through the state Treasurer’s office.

Recipients of the Rhode Island Works program will receive a 20% raise in cash benefits, and eligibility for child care supports will be expanded. The budget also allocates $83.6 million for the state match for federal funds to reconstruct the shuttered westbound Washington Bridge and doubles assistance for businesses in East Providence affected by the bridge closure.

The House plan provides additional funding for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to close a budget gap following the end of federal pandemic aid, ensuring no service reductions in the coming year.

Not included in the budget were proposals to alter the state’s financial institutions tax and funding for a new state archives and museum, due to timing and complexity issues, as well as the lack of an identified site and partner organizations for the museum.

For retirees, the budget includes raising the exemption on certain pension plans and annuities income and repeals the suspension of full annual cost of living adjustments for state employees who retired before 2012. It also changes the calculation for pension benefits to be based on the highest three consecutive years of earnings instead of five.

Environmental initiatives feature in the “green bond” with $5 million for farmland protection and various other allocations for open space and habitat management.

Lastly, the budget includes a $10 million bond referendum to support arts infrastructure in Rhode Island and retains a proposal to hike the cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack, while creating a new tax structure for electronic nicotine delivery systems.

The House Finance Committee’s comprehensive budget plan reflects a careful balance of investment in key areas, ensuring Rhode Island’s continued progress and stability amidst the conclusion of federal pandemic aid.

Like Newport Buzz? We depend on the generosity of readers like you who support us, to help with our mission to keep you informed and entertained with local, independent news and content. We truly appreciate your trust and support!

Related